‘Vishwaroopam’ to hit theatres on February 7 in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's date with Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' has been set for February 7. Ending the 10-day-long drama over the film and paving the way for its release, the Madras high court on Monday closed all petitions filed by the actor against the prohibitory orders invoked by the state administration to prevent its screening. The actor later issued a statement saying the movie will be released soon and thanked the government, fellow actors and fans.

On Monday morning, advocate general A Navaneethakrishnan and Kamal's senior counsel P S Raman informed Justice S Rajeswaran that the issue had been settled amicably. "Pursuant to the amicable settlement of the issues between the film producers and Muslim organisations, all district collectors in the state have withdrawn the orders earlier passed under Section 144 of CrPC, suspending the exhibition of the film, thereby paving the way for the peaceful release of the film in Tamil Nadu," a common memorandum filed before the court said.

They wanted the court's permission to withdraw the petitions filed by Kamal's film production firm, Rajkamal Films International. Justice Rajeswaran allowed the plea and closed all the pending cases. The memo said the settlement talks conducted in the presence of government representatives on February 2 helped reach a compromise under which the producers had agreed to make certain changes in the film.

'Vishwaroopam', originally scheduled to be released here on January 25, could not be screened as district collectors and commissioners of police issued prohibitory orders restraining theatres from screening it in Chennai and other districts. The mega-budget thriller ran into trouble after a few Muslim organisations staged protests saying the community has been shown in poor light in the film.

The actor approached the high court against the prohibitory orders and though he got a favourable order from a single judge, the film could not be screened as the order was stayed by a division bench of the high court. A distraught Kamal Haasan told the media that he will be forced to leave the state and even the country for a secular place if he continued to face harassment. After his emotional statement, fellow actors started unofficial talks with the protesters. Soon, chief minister J Jayalalithaa gave a statement, defending the government's move and facilitating talks between the two groups.

After marathon discussions on February 2, it was announced that film will be modified at seven instances by muting Quranic prayers and references to Tamil jihadis. The film was supposed to be screened in more than 500 theatres originally. Now, negotiations are on with many theatres that had started screening other movies.

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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.

The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the start, just over half of the 187 gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they had been bullied; by 2010 that dropped to 9 percent of gay and bisexual boys and 6 percent of lesbian and bisexual girls.

The researchers said the same results likely would be found in the United States.

In both countries, a "sea change" in cultural acceptance of gays and growing intolerance for bullying occurred during the study years, which partly explains the results, said study co-author Ian Rivers, a psychologist and professor of human development at Brunel University in London.

That includes a government mandate in England that schools work to prevent bullying, and changes in the United States permitting same-sex marriage in several states.

In 2010, syndicated columnist Dan Savage launched the "It Gets Better" video project to encourage bullied gay teens. It was prompted by widely publicized suicides of young gays, and includes videos from politicians and celebrities.

"Bullying tends to decline with age regardless of sexual orientation and gender," and the study confirms that, said co-author Joseph Robinson, a researcher and assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. "In absolute terms, this would suggest that yes, it gets better."

The study appears online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, said the results mirror surveys by her anti-bullying advocacy group that show bullying is more common in U.S. middle schools than in high schools.

But the researchers said their results show the situation is more nuanced for young gay men.

In the first years of the study, gay boys and girls were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By the last year, bullying dropped overall and was at about the same level for lesbians and straight girls. But the difference between men got worse by ages 19 and 20, with gay young men almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.

The mixed results for young gay men may reflect the fact that masculine tendencies in girls and women are more culturally acceptable than femininity in boys and men, Robinson said.

Savage, who was not involved in the study, agreed.

"A lot of the disgust that people feel when you bring up homosexuality ... centers around gay male sexuality," Savage said. "There's more of a comfort level" around gay women, he said.

Kendall Johnson, 21, a junior theater major at the University of Illinois, said he was bullied for being gay in high school, mostly when he brought boyfriends to school dances or football games.

"One year at prom, I had a guy tell us that we were disgusting and he didn't want to see us dancing anymore," Johnson said. A football player and the president of the drama club intervened on his behalf, he recalled.

Johnson hasn't been bullied in college, but he said that's partly because he hangs out with the theater crowd and avoids the fraternity scene. Still, he agreed, that it generally gets better for gays as they mature.

"As you grow older, you become more accepting of yourself," Johnson said.

___

Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

It Gets Better: http://www.itgetsbetter.org

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Jodi Arias Tells Jury She Killed Alexander

Jodi Arias took the stand today and quickly told the jury that she killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in a bloody attack in 2008.

And in a surprise, Arias told the jury that she planned to also kill herself.

"Did you kill Travis Alexander?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked Arias immediately after she took the stand.

"Yes," Arias said softly, turning to look at the jury.

"Why?"

"The simple answer is that he attacked me and I defended myself," she said.

Arias also explained why she said in a news interview, "No jury would ever convict" her of murdering Alexander. At the time she said it was because she was innocent, but on the stand today she said she made that statement because she had plans to commit suicide after the interview. The interview took place in September 2008, three months after the killing.

"I was very confident that no jury would convict me because I was sure I'd be dead," she said. "Those are probably the most bitter words I'll ever eat."

Arias is on trial for murdering Alexander by stabbing him 27 times, slashing his throat, and shooting him in the head twice. She could face the death penalty if convicted.

Nurmi questioned Arias about her early childhood, eliciting statements from Arias that she was subjected to frequent, violent beatings from her mother and father, who used belts, spoons, and their hands to discipline her and her siblings.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Victim's Ex Testifies Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Earlier in the day, the defense continued their attempt to show that Alexander was controlling and abusive toward Arias during their yearlong relationship and the year after, during which they continued a sexual relationship.

A woman's T-shirt emblazoned with the possessive "Travis Alexander's" and a pair of pink panties with the word "Travis'" on the front hint at the controlling nature and abusive attitude that existed between Alexander and Jodi Arias in the months before she killed him, defense attorneys said today.

Defense attorneys also questioned porn on Travis Alexander's computer during today's testimony.

Arias is accused of murder for Alexander's death, but her defense attorneys claim she killed him in self defense because he was an abusive and controlling "sexual deviant." The pair dated for a year before breaking up, but continued to have a sexual relationship for another year until Alexander's death.

The photo of the T-shirt and panties were found on Arias' camera in July 2008, more than a month after Arias killed Alexander on June 4.

"The photo of 'Travis Alexander's' and 'Travis', both written in the possessive form, will be relied on by our experts discussing the controlling nature of the relationship (between Alexander and Arias), the possessive nature of the relationship, and what that does to a woman," defense attorney Jennifer Willmott said today after the prosecution objected to the photos.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez asked Dworkin whether he knew when the words were put on the shirt and panties. When Dworkin said he could not determine when they were created, Martinez suggested that could have been done after Alexander was killed.

The defense also showed items from Alexander's internet search history from the early morning hours before he was killed, showing that he watched YouTube videos of scantily-clad women dancing to pop music and visited a proxy server, which covers one's IP address while surfing the internet. The defense will try to prove that Alexander was obsessed with looking at sexual content on his computer.

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North Korea nuclear test would face "firm" U.N. action: South Korea

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is united on North Korea's nuclear arms program and will undoubtedly approve tough measures against Pyongyang if it carries out a new atomic test as expected, South Korean U.N. Ambassador Kim Sook said on Monday.

"The North Korean nuclear test seems to be imminent," Kim, who is president of the Security Council this month, told reporters. "Obviously there are very busy activities going on at the (North Korean) nuclear test site, and everybody's watching."

"Everybody is unified and they are firm and resolute," he said. "I would expect very firm and strong measures to be taken ... once they go ahead with such provocation."

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Paraguay presidential candidate dies in helicopter crash

ASUNCION: A controversial presidential candidate who helped topple Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner in 1989 has died in a helicopter crash, officials said Sunday, prompting claims of foul play.

Lino Oviedo, 69, died with his bodyguard and pilot when the aircraft crashed en route to Asuncion while they were returning late Saturday from a campaign rally in northern Paraguay, the officials said.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, though early indications suggest the helicopter was caught up in a storm before it plummeted and hit the ground at a cattle ranch.

"At this point, all hypotheses are open," said civil aviation director Carlos Fugarazzo, noting that foreign experts would be called in to investigate the crash.

Oviedo was a former head of the Paraguayan military. His death was confirmed to AFP by Senator Herminio Chena, who is close to Oviedo's family.

"It's hard for us to accept it. We cannot believe it," Chena told AFP, choking back tears.

But there were immediate claims that the crash was not an accident. Diego Galeano, the brother of Oviedo's bodyguard Denis Galeano, told AFP "there is a strong suspicion that the helicopter was shot at," but he gave no proof.

Oviedo, who was running for the conservative UNACE party, was one of the three top candidates in the April 21 presidential election. In 2008 he ran for president and came in third, with 22 per cent of the vote.

Oviedo, who came from humble origins, rose to fame when Stroessner -- Paraguay's dictator for 35 years -- surrendered to him in a 1989 military coup. Oviedo died 24 years to the day since that event.

Oviedo fled to Paraguay in 1996 when then-president Juan Carlos Wasmosy accused him of orchestrating a failed coup.

He was court martialled and sentenced to 10 years in jail, and was later indicted for masterminding the murder of vice president Luis Maria Argana in 1999.

After years of hiding in Argentina and Brazil Oviedo returned to Paraguay in 2004, spent time in prison, and after legal wrangling had his rights fully restored by the Supreme Court.

Paraguay's upcoming election comes after its senate in June ousted the president, leftist former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo.

- AFP/jc

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Drone robots to add more teeth to anti-Maoist operations

KHARAGPUR: After drone missiles of the US military, drone robots will come to the help of Indian security forces in anti-insurgency operations. The robots are being developed at a research institution in Delhi's Karol Bagh, which has already developed another land surveillance robot and a mind sensing robot that can read the human mind.

Once ready, the drone robot can be used as an effective surveillance tool by the armed and security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations. The robot can spy over a battle zone while flying over it. Enemy positions, camps and even soldiers or rebels hiding behind bushes within a 50 km radius can be captured on its camera which even has night vision. "Information sent by the robot can help the security forces plan their operations with greater precision," said Diwakar Vaish, head of robotics and research at the Delhi-based A-Set Institute of Training and Research, that is working on the project.

Work on developing the robot is at an advanced stage at the A-Set Institute. The drone apart, Vaish from the 20-year-old institute demonstrated several other robots at the three-day KSHIT technology fest that began at IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) on Friday.

Among them are the spider robot and another surveillance robot developed by the A-Set, which took to robotics three years ago. The Spider robot resembles a spider and can operate in inhospitable terrains — hills, forests and grasslands — and collect information over a 2 km radius around it. "Unlike the drone robot that will fly, the spider robot moves along a surface," Vaish said.

The spider robot is very useful for security forces operating in Maoist zones, the scientist added. The robot moves like a spider as it spies over hostile territories. The cost of this robot is Rs 30 lakh. Vaish also said talks have begun between A-Set and the home and defence ministries for transfer of the technology.

Besides these surveillance robots, A-Set has also developed what it calls a mind sensing robot, said Vaish. This robot can read certain facets of a human mind like a person's sensory nerves. He also demonstrated the humanoid robots developed by the institute.

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'American Sniper' Killed; Former Marine Charged

A former Marine has been charged with three counts of murder in the killing of former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle, the most deadly sniper in U.S. history, and another man at an Erath County, Texas, gun range, police said.

"We have lost more than we can replace. Chris was a patriot, a great father, and a true supporter of this country and its ideals. This is a tragedy for all of us. I send my deepest prayers and thoughts to his wife and two children," Scott McEwen, co-author of "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," said in a statement to ABC News.

Remembering Kyle for the number of Iraqi insurgents he killed misstates his legacy, McEwen said.

"His legacy is not one of being the most lethal sniper in United States history," McEwen said. In my opinion, his legacy is one of saving lives in a very difficult situation where Americans where going to be killed if he was not able to do his job."

Kyle and a neighbor of his were shot at a gun range in Glen Rose while helping a former Marine who was recovering from post traumatic stress syndrome, ABC affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas reported.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley/AP Photo; Erath County Sheriff's Offi

The suspect, identified as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was arrested in Lancaster, Texas, after a brief police chase, a Lancaster Police Department dispatcher told ABC News. Routh was driving Kyle's truck at the time of his arrest, police said.

Routh was arraigned Saturday evening on one count of capital murder and two counts of murder. He was brought to the Erath County Jail this morning and was being held there today on a combined $3 million bond, Officer Kyle Roberts said.

Investigators told WFAA that Routh is a former Marine said to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Kyle helped found a nonprofit that provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans, but the director of the foundation said Kyle and Routh had not met through the organization.

"Chris was literally the type of guy if you were a veteran and needed help he'd help you," Travis Cox, the director of FITCO Cares, told The Associated Press. "And from my understanding that's what happened here. I don't know how he came in contact with this gentleman, but I do know that it was not through the foundation."

Authorities identified the other man who was killed with Kyle as 35-year-old Chad Littlefield, who Cox said was Kyle's neighbor and friend.

PHOTOS: Notable Deaths in 2013

Kyle, 38, served four tours in Iraq and was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation.

From 1999 to 2009, Kyle recorded more than 150 sniper kills, the most in U.S. military history.

After leaving combat duty, Kyle became chief instructor training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual. He left the Navy in 2009.

"American Sniper," which was published last year by William Morrow, became a New York Times best seller.

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Iran hedges on nuclear talks with six powers or U.S.

MUNICH (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday it was open to a U.S. offer of direct talks on its nuclear program and that six world powers had suggested a new round of nuclear negotiations this month, but without committing itself to either proposal.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve a dispute over Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is peaceful but the West suspects is intended to give Iran the capability to build a nuclear bomb, have been all but deadlocked for years, while Iran has continued to announce advances in the program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said a suggestion on Saturday by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden that Washington was ready for direct talks with Iran if Tehran was serious about negotiations was a "step forward".

"We take these statements with positive consideration. I think this is a step forward but ... each time we have come and negotiated it was the other side unfortunately who did not heed ... its commitment," Salehi said at the Munich Security Conference where Biden made his overture a day earlier.

He also complained to Iran's English-language Press TV of "other contradictory signals", pointing to the rhetoric of "keeping all options on the table" used by U.S. officials to indicate they are willing to use force to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"This does not go along with this gesture (of talks) so we will have to wait a little bit longer and see if they are really faithful this time," Salehi said.

Iran is under a tightening web of sanctions. Israel has also hinted it may strike if diplomacy and international sanctions fail to curb Iran's nuclear drive.

In Washington, Army General Martin Dempsey, the top U.S. military officer, said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that the United States has the capability to stop any Iranian effort to build nuclear weapons, but Iranian "intentions have to be influenced through other means."

Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made his comments on NBC's program "Meet the Press," speaking alongside outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Panetta said current U.S. intelligence indicated that Iranian leaders have not made a decision to proceed with the development of a nuclear weapon.

"But every indication is they want to continue to increase their nuclear capability," he said. "And that's a concern. And that's what we're asking them to stop doing."

The new U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, has said he will give diplomacy every chance of solving the Iran standoff.

THE BEST CHANCE

With six-power talks making little progress, some experts say talks between Tehran and Washington could be the best chance, perhaps after Iran has elected a new president in June.

Negotiations between Iran and the six powers - Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France and Germany - have been deadlocked since a meeting last June.

EU officials have accused Iran of dragging its feet in weeks of haggling over the date and venue for new talks.

Salehi said he had "good news", having heard that the six powers would meet in Kazakhstan on February 25.

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who coordinates the efforts of the six powers, confirmed that she had proposed talks in the week of February 25 but noted that Iran had not yet accepted.

Kazakhstan said it was ready to host the talks in either Astana or Almaty.

Salehi said Iran had "never pulled back" from the stuttering negotiations with the six powers. "We still are very hopeful. There are two packages, one package from Iran with five steps and the other package from the (six powers) with three steps."

Iran raised international concern last week by announcing plans to install and operate advanced uranium enrichment machines. The EU said the move, potentially shortening the path to weapons-grade material, could deepen doubts about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel's mission to stop its arch-enemy from acquiring nuclear weapons was "becoming more complex, since the Iranians are equipping themselves with cutting-edge centrifuges that shorten the time of (uranium) enrichment".

"We must not accept this process," said Netanyahu, who is trying to form a new government after winning an election last month. Israel is generally believed to be the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons.

(Additional reporting by Myra MacDonald and Stephen Brown in Munich, Dmitry Solovyov in Almaty, Yeganeh Torbati in Dubai and Jim Wolf in Washington; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Will Dunham)

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Football: Returning Carroll steers West Ham past Swansea

LONDON: On-loan striker Andy Carroll scored only his second goal of the season as West Ham United won 1-0 at home to Swansea City on Saturday to end a run of four Premier League games without victory.

West Ham were largely dominant at Upton Park but could find no way past Swansea's inspired goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel until Carroll powered home a header from a corner with 13 minutes to play.

Victory lifted West Ham two places to 11th in the table, while League Cup finalists Swansea remain eighth after a first defeat in eight games.

Eager to prevent Swansea from settling into their usual passing rhythm, West Ham snapped into their tackles from the off and Ricardo Vaz Te was booked for a lunge at Wayne Routledge in the eighth minute.

Carroll, on loan from Liverpool, was making his first West Ham start since November 28 and the hosts looked for him at every opportunity as they began to impose themselves on the game.

Tremmel did brilliantly to prevent Kevin Nolan putting West Ham ahead from close range in the 21st minute after Joey O'Brien left Routledge for dead with a step-over on the right flank.

A second contest between Nolan and Tremmel in the 37th minute produced the same result, with the German saving superbly after the home skipper took aim from a Carroll knock-down.

Tremmel came to his side's rescue again shortly before half-time when he diverted a 25-yard shot from Vaz Te around the post.

The hosts remained on the front foot in the second period, with Tremmel repelling Vaz Te again and Carroll hoisting the ball wastefully over the Swansea crossbar from a Matt Jarvis cut-back.

Belatedly, Swansea reacted, Pablo Hernandez testing Jussi Jaaskelainen from a free-kick and top scorer Michu nodding a cross from Hernandez over the top.

Tremmel unleashed yet another fine save to thwart Carroll before the visitors' resistance finally subsided in the 77th minute.

Carroll cleverly shook off the attentions of Ashley Williams inside the Swansea box before planting a header past Tremmel from a corner.

In response, Jaaskelainen saved from Ki Sung-Yueng and then sprang to his feet to block Ben Davies' follow-up effort, while the hosts also survived a desperate scramble inside their own area in the dying stages.

English Premier League results:
Arsenal 1 Stoke 0
Everton 3 Aston Villa 3
Fulham 0 Manchester Utd 1
Newcastle 3 Chelsea 2
QPR 0 Norwich 0
Reading 2 Sunderland 1
West Ham 1 Swansea 0
Wigan 2 Southampton 2

- AFP/de

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Ten killed in road accident near Barmer

JAISALMER: Ten people including two children died while two others were injured in an accident between a jeep and a dumper on Saturday near Barmer in Rajasthan.

All the deceased were returning home after a marriage party. The accident happened at 3am on Saturday. Barmer SP Rahul Barhat and other administrative officers rushed to the spot immediately.

Barhat said 10 persons died in in collision between a jeep and a trolley on National Highway 15. The deceased include two children too.

He said around 2 am on Saturday, the jeep collided with trolley. The collision was so severe that the jeep was shattered to pieces. There were 12-13 people travelling in jeep. While nine died on the spot, one person died in hospital. The injured are in critical condition. The bodies were handed over to family members after post-mortem.

Police have ordered a probe. The reason for the accident is yet to be ascertained. After the accident, the locals put up a blockade on NH15 for two hours.

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